Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Shadows on the Hudson by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Joseph Sherman, Theodore Bikel, Julie Harris, John Rubinstein ISBN: 0-7871-1725-0 Publisher: Audio Literature Pub. Date: 01 July, 1998 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 4 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.83 (18 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Echoes Of The Holocaust
Comment: Although I agree with the criticisma made by other readers, I still loves "Shadows On The Hudson" and consider it a worthwhile and engrossing book.
Singer writes about a small group of exciles who survived the Holocaust be fleeing to New York City and creating a community in the shadows of the Hudson river. It was here that they contemplated their devastaing past and doubious future.
The characters are intelleigent and intense, anguished by their expulsion from their homeland and the collapse of their cultural and religious values.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Brilliant Work
Comment: This is a long, deep novel that deals with some of the fundamental problems of human existence. More than any other writer, Singer (at least in this book) reminds me of Dostoyevsky, whose characters were constantly in existentialist turmoil over questions such as good vs. evil and whether or not there is a God (and if there is, is He good, evil or indifferent?) Of course, while Dostoyevsky was a Christian, all of the characters in Shadows on the Hudson are Jewish holocaust survivors who have recently emigrated to New York from Europe shortly after World War ll. This is something that none of them can forget, even for a day, as many barely escaped while their loved ones perished. Beyond this confrontation with evil and death, the novel is largely about the philosophical war between religious orthodoxy and hedonistic modern life. Contemporary readers who do not come from a strongly religious background may have some difficulty appreciating this dilemma. The mass culture that Singer found vulgar and amoral in the 50s has now all but taken over in America, leaving many people no frame of reference for any other type of existence. While there is much philosophizing, Singer succeeds in creating flesh and blood characters whose moral anguish is not simply abstract, but put to the test in daily life. The character we spend the most time with is Hertz Grein, a middle-aged man whose religious yearnings are in stark contrast to his lifestyle. He is a married man who has had a long affair with another woman. As the novel opens, he is preparing to run off with yet another woman. Grein's behavior through most of this book is both irrational and indefensible. He lies to all three women, and makes all his decisions on the whim of the moment. At the same time, he is hardly without a conscience. On the contrary, he is deeply ashamed of the pain he causes others and desperately wants to redeem himself. Reading Shadows on the Hudson, I got the feeling that Singer himself, as he wrote the book, was struggling with the very issues faced by Grein and his other, equally fascinating and conflicted characters. The central problem posed by the book is the paradox of faith. On the one hand, there is no evidence that God exists. Indeed, the prevalence of suffering and evil suggests an indifferent universe. On the other hand, life without faith is unbearable and leads to a world without meaning or values. Does this mean that we should, even in the absence of evidence, embrace a strict moral code? Although the conclusion of Shadows on the Hudson is somewhat ambiguous, Singer seems to answer this question tentatively in the affirmative. Whether or not you agree (I actually don't), the question is an extremely important one and this book gets to the core of it.
Rating: 5
Summary: Essential reading.
Comment: While procrastinating over an essay that needed writing, I once reached for the nearest book on the library shelf. It was a critical discussion of the role of the Schlemiel figure in Jewish literature. I was hooked instantly on Jewish literature, and have read everything that I can find, especially the work of Isaac Bashevis Singer.
Shadows on the Hudson was astonishingly difficult to read. I found myself profoundly depressed for the two weeks I spent reading this novel. It is dark, despairing, and hopeless.
The epilogue, however, makes everything clear. This is not so much a novel as a treatise on religion. This book demonstates why religion is an essential part of humanity, and also explains why Judaism is so unique.
This is a very important book.
 |
Title: Love and Exile: An Autobiographical Trilogy by Isaac Bashevis Singer ISBN: 0374519927 Publisher: Noonday Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 1997 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
 |
Title: Satan in Goray by Isaac Bashevis Singer ISBN: 0374524793 Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Pub. Date: 01 June, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: In My Father's Court by Isaac Bashevis Singer ISBN: 0374505926 Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Pub. Date: 01 October, 1991 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
 |
Title: The Slave by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Cecil Hemly, Cecil Hemley ISBN: 0374506809 Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Pub. Date: 01 October, 1988 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: Shosha by Isaac Bashevis Singer ISBN: 0374524807 Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Pub. Date: 01 April, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
